Tech wrap: Groupon offers itself to the public

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Online coupon company Groupon filed for an initial public offering of up to $750 million, the latest in a series of Internet companies to tap the U.S. capital markets. In April, a source told Reuters that Groupon could raise as much as $1 billion in the IPO, which could value the fast-growing daily deals site at $15 billion to $20 billion. The IPO filing did not specify the number of shares to be sold in the IPO, the price range, or the exchange, though it did say the shares would trade under the symbol “GRPN.”

Washington scrambled to assess whether security had been compromised after Google revealed a major hacker attack targeting U.S. officials that the Internet giant pegged to China. Neither Google nor the U.S. government has said the Chinese government was behind the attacks. Beijing nevertheless reacted angrily to Google’s charge, saying it was “unacceptable” to blame Beijing and allegations that China supports hacking were unfounded “and have ulterior motives”.

The Executive Office of the President, which includes the White House and related offices, blocks access to outside email services such as Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail on its networks within the complex. Other agencies also have firewalls to block access.

An alleged contract and emails that Paul Ceglia says entitle him to a huge stake in Facebook are forgeries, the social network’s founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a court filing. Zuckerberg asked a federal judge to order Ceglia to immediately turn over the alleged original contract and emails, and for permission to inspect Ceglia’s computers. In the filing, Zuckerberg acknowledged signing an agreement with Ceglia, but that it concerned work Zuckerberg did for StreetFax.com, a website that posted photographs of traffic intersections for use in the insurance industry.